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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034553">How things change</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARBLIGHTS/pseuds/STARBLIGHTS'>STARBLIGHTS</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Canon Compliant, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Gay Amity Blight, Kinda, M/M, No Smut, same as characters, ships will be added as the story advances, sorry buddy, straight gus, trans! willow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:00:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,346</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARBLIGHTS/pseuds/STARBLIGHTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This isn't how the school trip was supposed to go. No one was supposed to get hurt. Luz wasn't supposed to go back to the human realm.<br/>With no way of going back to the Boiling Isles, Luz moves on. And so does everyone else.<br/>Now, six years later and on her second year of college, Luz has stayed focused on her grades, thinking about the future and away from any kind of weirdness. But what would happen when a very familiar face shows up at her drawing class, presented as a new student?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Jerbo/Willow Park</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>288</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. That day... that damned day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Luz</strong>
</p><p>This isn’t how the field trip was supposed to go. It was supposed to be just like any other school trip, it was supposed to be a good memory to talk about in a future.</p><p>Eda warned me not to go, she begged me to ditch school that day... I told her she was being paranoid, that nothing was going to happen on the Emperor’s Castle.</p><p>I was wrong.</p><p>The field trip started amazingly. Me, Willow and Gus were exploring the castle together, they explained some of the castle’s history to me, which I didn’t pay attention to because I was busy looking at all of the cool artifacts there were on the castle.</p><p>At some point I got separated from them and bumped into Amity, her face got really red when she saw me, and she started sweating... which makes no sense because the castle is as cold as ice. We sat on a nearby bench and talked about what we had seen.</p><p>“I’ve been dreaming of visiting this castle ever since I was a child!” She told me. “My parents always told me about it, about how big and powerful it was, they weren’t lying.” She smiled. God that smile.</p><p>“How do your parents know the castle? I thought only Coven members were allowed into the cast-” I stopped in my tracks, as I realized something that was quite obvious. “Ohh, your parents are coven members, aren’t they?”</p><p>Amity looked at me and nodded. “Yeah, they are.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “My dad is Belos’s closest advisor.” My eyes widened in shock. No wonder her family is so stuck on getting her to be the best and making sure she gets into the Emperor’s Coven.</p><p>“Woah, that sound really dope! I can’t imagine being the advisor to such a big figure!” Amity sighed, and got up from the bench we were sitting on.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s cool when it comes to stuff like money and social status, but...” I got up as well, following her to the window she was looking at. “When it comes to family... not so much. Even though my dad isn’t my favorite person in the world, I miss him a lot, he is always out of the house on business, and when he’s actually in the house with us he's working or checking in on Edric and Emira... It’s like...” I looked at her face and I saw a fresh stream of tears, running down her cheeks. “It’s like I wasn’t important to him, it’s like his job was more important than his own daughter...” I grabbed her hands and pulled her into a hug.</p><p>“If it makes you feel better, you’re more important to me than homework.” She laughed and passed her sleeve through her eyes, to clean them.</p><p>“Thanks Luz, I can’t say the same here, you may be special but you’re not going to pay for my food in the future.” We laughed together and went back to our bench. “What’s up with that hat of yours by the way?” She asked as she touched the top of it.</p><p>“Oh, this old thing? I got it at an anime convention, it’s from one of my favorite shows: Madoka Magica” The look on Amity’s face made me understand that she had not understood a single word I said.</p><p>“I meant, why are you wearing it?”</p><p>“Oh! To hide my ears, Eda told me to wear it. I still don’t know why” I shrugged.</p><p>We continued talking and lost track of time, at some point one of our teachers came running at us, yelling that we were late for the big presentation. We apologized and ran to the castle’s ballroom, where we were going to meet the Emperor himself. I was so excited, and scared.</p><p>When me and Amity arrived, we got separated, she went with Skara and some other girls; and I went with Gus and Willow.</p><p>“Where were you? Me and Gus were looking for you like crazy when we realized you had gotten separated from us!” Willow whisper-yelled at me. I smiled at her and apologized.</p><p>“Sorry, sorry. I got distracted by this cool artifact, and as I was leaving the room I bumped into Amity. We started talking about stuff and ended up losing track of time.”</p><p>They both looked at each other and chuckled, which made me confused, I was going to ask what the chuckling was about, but our teachers shushed us. Belos was about to appear.</p><p>We were all huddled in a big circle, in front of a huge door. I was looking at it, trying to figure out if it was actual gold or just golden paint.</p><p>Then the door opened.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>Eda</strong>
</p><p>I was pacing back and forth in the living room, trying to make up my mind. To go get Luz before anything happens and risk being caught by the Emperor’s Coven... or not go and risk losing Luz. <em>Damn this kid, making me worry for her, what does she think I am, her mom?</em></p><p>My mind started running again, thinking about thousands of things in seconds. At some point I fell something hit my head, I turned around annoyed and found King on top of the couch, glaring at me.</p><p>“You’ve been pacing back and forth for so long you left a mark on the floor.” And he was right, where I was walking now was slightly lower than the rest of the floor. “You always worry about Luz, and she always ends up saving herself... somehow. Now stop worrying and get over here! I want tummy scratches.”</p><p>King was right, Luz somehow has stayed alive for a long time, but that’s with smaller monsters and witches... this is Belos we’re talking about, not even me, being the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles could take down Belos. I sighed before making my way to the couch. “You’re right King... I'm just... I have history with Belos, and I know what he’s capable of doing. And I know for a fact he absolutely hates humans.”</p><p>“Okay, but with Luz wearing her hat there’s no way he can recognize her, so less thinking and more scratching.”</p><p>I sat down and a few seconds later King laid on my lap, tummy up so I could scratch him. As I scratched him, I started thinking of all the ways that field trip could go wrong.</p><p>Luz could get lost and stay in Belos’s castle by accident which would mean I would have to go look for her.</p><p>She would try and grab one of the many artifacts, only to drop it and infuriate Belos.</p><p>And last, Belos could find out she’s a human... but she has her a hat to cover her ears, so she should be fine. It’s not like Belos can recognize witches, demons and humans from smell or something...</p><p>“Oh no.”</p><p>I stood up from the couch so quickly it made my head spin for a second, but I regained my composure. King yelled at me for dropping him, I told him to shut up. Luz was in danger. That’s far more important to me than some crybaby pet that I can easily replace.</p><p>I looked over at King to tell him to get on Owlbert with me, but I was met with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. It was then when I realized... that I had said that stuff about King out loud.</p><p>“King I-” But he was already gone, he sprinted to the back of the room and I heard him knock himself in a room. I thought about going to him, see if he was okay. Then I remembered Luz. As much as I wanted to check on him, he wasn’t in mortal danger, Luz was. I can deal with him later. And with that final thought I took off on my way to Belos’s castle. “Dang it.”</p><p>I leaned down and told Olwbert to step on it, I needed to get to the castle as fast as I could, or the consequences would be dire. He hooted at me and amplified the speed. After a while I could see the outline of Belos’s caste in the distance. “We’re almost there, keep up the pace!”</p><p>I started thinking of ways to sneak in. But my thoughts got distracted from a loud sound... it sounded just like an explosion, at it came from Belos’s castle. I cursed and told Owlbert to go even faster. An explosion that big could only be caused by someone strong enough to create a huge fireball, and that someone is Belos. Which meant...</p><p>That Luz’s cover had been blown, and that Belos had figured out she’s a human. My eyes filled with tears, thinking of the possibilities. What if I was too late, what if she's already gone. I can’t lose my kid, not again.</p><p>Then I realized... if I somehow manage to rescue Luz shell become the most wanted person in the Island, which would make it impossible for her to leave the house, see her friends, study magic. And on top of that, it would be incredibly dangerous for her.</p><p>I looked down at my pocket, pulling a golden object from it.</p><p>The key to the human realm. It was the only way to protect Luz.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>Amity</strong>
</p><p>When I saw the door open my heart stopped. There he stood, respected and loved, the all-powerful Belos. I’ve heard stories from my dad about this man, working for him has being my dream since I was a little kid. Or well... it became my dream via my parents.</p><p>He took a few steps and stood in front of all of us. He cleared his throat before speaking.</p><p>“Welcome Hexside students! It is a great pleasure to have welcomed you all to my Castle. I will try to remember your faces, I’m sure I’ll see some of you in the Emperor’s Coven in a few years...” He turned to look at me and smiled before continuing. “Now, I want to say some words towards the students... Wait.” He stopped mid-track and started sniffing the air. He sniffed once more.</p><p>“What is he doing?” I heard Boscha whisper behind me. I heard a growl. Belos stood tall above us all, he looked like a giant.</p><p>“Why... do I smell... a human...” My eyes widened and I turned to look at Luz. She was scared. This was the very first time I’ve seen Luz so scared. She was trembling. I wanted to go over and comfort her, but that would be suspicious.</p><p>Principal Bump stepped to the front. “Emperor, I can assure you there are no humans at Hexside, our school would never accept a human, if there were any on the Boiling Isles.” He was lying... to protect Luz.</p><p>The Emperor stared at him, and he shrunk into his normal size. “Principal Bump...” He began talking. “How dare you LIE TO ME.” As he said his last words, he grabbed Bump by the throat and raised him above the floor. The teachers all looked shocked, some of them in a fighting position in case something happened. As for the students, we were all scared, trembling in our feet. I heard some whispers in the background.</p><p>“Why is Bump protecting the human? It's not like she’s important or anything...” I was about to go slap that idiot, when I heard a loud noise from across the room.</p><p>The Emperor had thrown Principal Bump to the wall across the room. Bump fell to the ground with a groan. Professor Randresh stood in front of Bump, as a nearby school nurse ran to help him.</p><p>“Abomination... rise!” Professor Randresh’s abomination stood proudly above him, ready to fight at any given second. The rest of the teachers joined him, casting different spells, plants, illusions... That’s when I realized things had gone horribly wrong.</p><p>Emperor Belos looked shocked at the scene in front of him. He laughed. “So, I take this means your little school is revolting against me?” He amplified his size again, standing tall above all of us. “Well then so be it!” And before we could react, he threw a fireball at us.</p><p>“Kids get out of the way!” I didn’t even pay attention to who said that, I just jumped to the side, barely avoiding the fireball. The teachers managed to hold and destroy the fireball, they all worked together and attacked Belos back.</p><p>In the midst of the chaos I started looking for Luz. I saw some students on the floor, bleeding and whimpering in pain, they probably didn’t react as quickly as I did. Amongst them I recognized Skara, who had a huge burn on her left arm.</p><p>“Amity!” I heard a voice behind me. It was Willow, who ran towards me as she avoided more attacks. “Where is Luz?”</p><p>“What do you mean where's Luz?! I thought she was with you guys!” I grew more and more worried; the ballroom was a complete chaos and Luz was nowhere to be found. “We have to find her before-”</p><p>“Emperor Belos! We found the human.” Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Me and Willow looked at each other before looking at the source of the voice we heard. Then I saw it. Two Coven members, holding Luz down. One of them moved their hand to take off Luz’s hat, revealing her round ears.” Luz tried fighting them, but it was in vain, the two Coven members were holding her tightly.</p><p>“Ah... so there she is... what’s your name sweetheart?” He shrunk back into his normal size and walked towards Luz, she looked at him for a few seconds... before spitting right into his face. Belos jumped back and wiped his face as he cursed. “Fucking human, I was going to show you some appreciation, but apparently that’s not what you want.” He raised his hand, and a fireball started forming at his palm.</p><p>“He’s going to kill her! Someone has to do something!” I heard Gus scream. But no one moved a muscle. No one knew what to do. I was in a state of shock, all I could do was stare at Luz, the girl I've loved for a while... about to be taken away from me forever. I looked down at the floor, not wanting to see Luz being burned to death. A few seconds later, I heard the ballroom door open.</p><p>“Belos! Get away from my kid!”</p><p>I turned around and saw Eda on top of her staff, as she casted a fire spell towards Belos, hitting him on the face. He groaned and stumbled backwards. She then turned at the two Coven members holding Luz, she raised her hand and casted a sleeping spell on them, which made them fall down to the floor, asleep. “Eda!” Luz yelled.</p><p>“Hey kid, we need to get you out of here. Now.” She grabbed Luz and carried her outside of the room. With the door open and Belos recovering from the hit a bunch of students ran out of the ballroom. I saw Willow and Gus running too, following Eda. I decided to follow her as well.</p><p>We ran to the back of the castle, which made no sense because if we wanted to escape with the buses, we had to take the main entrance. When I finally caught up with them, I saw Eda and Luz yelling at each other.</p><p>“NO! I AM NOT GOING BACK TO THE HUMAN REALM! I’M STAYING HERE AND IM LEARNING TO BE A WITCH!” Then I understood why we were here; Eda was going to open the portal to the human realm to get Luz back and protect her.</p><p>“Don't you get it? Now that Belos knows you're a human hell be looking for you everywhere, you won't be able to do anything, it'd be a waste of time. At some point he'll be able to find the Owl House and take you away!” Eda yelled back in exasperation. Luz looked like she was in the verge of tears. She opened her mouth to answer back to Eda.</p><p>“There they are! Grab them!” I turned around and saw around ten to twenty Coven members running at us, hands raised and ready to attack. One of them shoot a blast of magic at me, but right before it hit me Willow casted a plant in front of me, protecting me from the attack. I got away from the plant and ran further back into the hallway.</p><p>That’s when I realized. We were on a dead end. There was no way for us to escape.</p><p>“What do we do?” I heard Gus say, fear evident on his tone. I looked over at willow, who was protecting us all from the attacks with a giant plant net.</p><p>“I can get us out of here, I can make a teleportation spell, but itll take me a few minutes.” Eda told us, she got on her knees and started casting the spell on the floor. We stared at her, amazed by the magic surging through her. My focus broke when I heard a loud groan coming from Willow. The Coven members had opened a hole through her barrier and were making their way towards us.</p><p>“Hand over the human and no one gets hurt.” One of them said. Eda looked at them, she got away from her almost finished cast and towards them, I saw rage in her eyes.</p><p>“I am not going to hand over my kid. If you want her... then good luck finding her.” And with those final words she took out a key from her pocket, and threw it across the room. In that spot, a big door opened. The door to the human realm.</p><p>“Eda, no! I don’t want to go back, I want to stay here with you, learning magic!” She ran towards Eda to hug her, but before she touched her, she was pushed back by a blast of energy, that threw her all the way back, almost into the portal. I got ready to attack, thinking it was one of the Coven members that had attacked her, then I realized. It was Eda who pushed her back.</p><p>“Don’t be such a brat and GO!” She threw another one, making Luz enter the portal almost entirely. Luz grabbed onto the door frame with all her strength. Tears streaming into her eyes.</p><p>I then realized what was happening, she was going back. And I would never see her again. The girl I love, gone forever... I decided to do something that I might regret later, it was now or never. I walked over to Luz, who was losing strength from holding the door frame.</p><p>“Luz I...” And before I got to finish my sentence, her grip loosened entirely, making her enter the portal and closing the door behind her. “... love you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. How do I handle this?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW // MENTIONS OF BULLYING , PARENTAL ABUSE , TRANSPHOBIA , DEATH</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b> Luz </b> </p><p><em> It’s so soft... I can feel the grass underneath me. It smells so good... violets, my mom’s favorite flower. It’s so warm... I can feel the sun hitting my skin.  </em> </p><p><em> Wait... Grass? Flowers? Sun?  </em> </p><p>I woke up with a gasp, my eyes slowly adapting to my surroundings. <em> This isn’t the Boiling Isles...  </em>I stood up from the patch of grass I was lying on. I looked around and recognized where I was.  </p><p>“It’s the forest I went to when Owlbert stole my book...” I turned around, and standing behind me I saw that creepy old house... the one that took me to the best trip ever. I ran to the door, knowing if I entered through it, I would be teleported to the Boiling Isles. When I opened it... I was met with a living room, an old and dusty living room. “No... no it can’t be...” I got out of the house, closed the door and opened it again. Living room. I repeated the same motion over and over again. “No! No!” I was starting to cry. “I want to go back! Eda! Willow! Gus! Amity!” I couldn’t take it anymore, my knees gave in and I fell on the floor, bailing my eyes out.  </p><p>After a few minutes, maybe hours, I dried my eyes and got up. I didn’t want to go home just yet, so I took a walk around the forest. At some point I felt my phone buzz. It was a text from my mom.  </p><p>-Mija, did you remember to pack everything? Don’t forget your tooth brush... Ay que emocion! I’ve missed you so much ever since you went to camp, I can’t wait until tomorrow to see you! -  </p><p>“So, I’m supposed to return tomorrow... how convenient.” I huffed and put my phone back in my pocket. “I’ll text her back later... For now, I should find a place to sleep.”  </p><p>After some thinking I realized my best option was to go and sleep on the abandoned house. After the probably longest walk in my life I arrived to the house. As I made my way to the porch, I noticed something on a bench. “My backpack...” I opened it and inside I found my clothes, books and a few glyphs. I grabbed it and went inside of the house. “Why is it so dark here... Oh! I’ll just use a light spell, how silly of me.” I took out one of the glyphs and tapped on it, creating a small orb to illuminate me.  </p><p>I went upstairs, opening each door one by one until I found the least creepy bedroom. I walked in and without changing into my pajamas, I flopped down on the bed, as I let sleep wash over me.  </p><p>A few hours later I woke up thanks to my phone ringing like crazy. I picked it up. “¿Que?” I answered harshly. When I heard the voice at the other side of the line my skin crawled.  </p><p>“¿Como que ‘¿Que?’ who do you think you are talking to your mother like that, when you come home, I’m washing your mouth with soap.” My mom sounded very angry, so I had to appeal and somehow make her calm down.  </p><p>“Sorry, mami, I didn’t sleep much and I didn’t see who called me. I never meant to snap like that...” I waited a few seconds before continuing. “What did you need?”  </p><p>“Wanted to remind you to check your bag again and to make sure you didn’t forget anything. Besides, it’s 10am you should’ve been up hours ago, your bus leaves at 12.” I glanced at my phone screen. 10:17am.  </p><p>“Thanks, mami. I’ll get up and get ready to go back.” I paused for a second, before asking. “Hey, how long is the trip from the camp back home, last time I was so happy time flew...” I asked this to arrive at home near the hour I'm supposed to.  </p><p>“Oh! It takes around an hour...” <em> So, </em> <em>  I should be in home around 1pm...  </em>“I can’t wait to see you again, mija. I've really missed you.”  </p><p>“I've missed you too...” Not a lie, but not the truth. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Chao.” </p><p>“Chao, Luz.” I hung up. I let my weight pull me down into the mattress again, I wanted to sleep some more but my body wasn’t allowing it.  </p><p>“Mierda...” I looked in my bag for something to do, and settled for reading Good Witch Azura: 5 again. I grabbed the book and opened it. And when I did, a note came out of it. It was pink and it smelled like... “Amity.” I opened the note and started reading.  </p><p>Dear Luz,  </p><p>Thank you for letting me borrow your book. I really liked it. I wanted to write you this and apologize. I was a terrible person to you, yet you always showed me kindness... I don’t deserve it. I’m going to work hard to earn your friendship, I’m going to make up for all the mean comments.  </p><p>Thank you, for being my friend.  </p><p>Love, Amity.   </p><p>I gripped the book tightly, as tears streamed down my face... “Fuck... fuck...” I want to go back... I want to go back, I want to see Amity, I want to hug her... tell her she doesn’t need to do anything, she’s already the best friend I could ever have.  </p><p>I sat there, looking at the note for hours, trying to remember how her hugs felt. I would kill to have Amity hug me once more.  </p><p>A while passed and my alarm rang, signaling that I had thirty minutes to get ready and go home. I put the note back into the book, as I arranged my stuff. I realized I was still wearing my Hexside uniform and quickly changed out of it.  </p><p>I stared at the uniform in my hand, thinking if I should put it in my bag or not. In the end, I decided to leave it in the house, there was no way for me to go back there. It was best for me to leave it behind.  </p><p>A few hours later I was in my kitchen, telling my mom how camp had gone. I obviously made everything up, and she somehow believed everything.  </p><p>“Oh, Luz how wonderful.” She smiled at me. “So, do you feel the camp helped you?” She took my hands in hers. “I can’t wait for you to go back to school tomorrow, and show your teachers and classmates the improved Luz!” Improved?  </p><p>I smiled back at her. “Yes mom, camp did help me a lot. “It didn’t. “I can’t wait to go back tomorrow either.” A lie. Why would I want to go back there? To get picked on? I finished eating and took my plate to the kitchen. I took a glass of water before going to my room.  </p><p>“Mija, it’s almost 5pm, aren’t you going to watch that show of yours? the with the girl that can turn into a panther or something like that...” I turned around to answer to her.  </p><p>“Not right now mami, I’m kind of tired. I’m going to bed.” I went to my room and locked myself in it.  </p><p>The next day my mom knocked my door, telling me to get ready for school. <em> Just three more years... and I’m out of that place...  </em> I did as my mom told me and an hour later, I’m on the bus.  </p><p>As I enter the school, I can see everyone looking at me. Judging me. Questioning me. I can also hear some whispers near me.  </p><p>“Isn’t that girl the one her mom sent to a camp to fix her?”  </p><p>“Yeah, I heard she was crazy as hell, do you think the camp worked?”  </p><p>“I hope so, I don’t think I could handle another one of her fantasy breakouts.”  </p><p>Block them out Luz, block the comments. Don’t listen to them, and get to class. I quickened my pace and made my way into my class as fast as I could.  I went to the back of the class and sat down, taking my books out. When I opened my math book, I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of drawings. I stared at them for a few seconds, before grabbing my eraser and getting rid of the doodles.  </p><p><em> “I should leave this behind... I should stop seeing and watching fantasy stuff... I have to keep my mind away from the Boiling Isles as much as I can...” </em>  </p><p>Class passed slow, very slow, I almost fell asleep at some point, but I forced myself to stay awake. Starting from today I’m going to focus on my studies, I’m going to focus on them and forget everything else.  </p><p>That fantasy loving part of my life is gone. The childish immature Luz is gone. This is a new era for myself.  </p>
<hr/><p><b> Amity </b> </p><p>A week had passed since the incident in the Emperor’s Castle, since Eda had gotten captured, since Luz went back to the human world. Time had passed painfully slowly for me, each hour that I spent without her, without hearing her laughter, without seeing her weird human quirks... without having her by my side, has been a torture.  </p><p>But it feels like I’m the only one. Everyone on the Boiling Isles moved on so fast, it’s like Luz was never here, it’s like she only left a mark on my heart.  </p><p>I’ve kept a good friendship with both Willow and Gus, they’ve helped me overcome losing Luz. It’s harder for them, I know, I should be the one comforting them but, they seem okay to me. It’s like the fact that Luz isn’t here pains them, but doesn´t stop them, doesn´t distract them. </p><p>And I wish it didn’t distract me either. Ever since the trip to the Emperor’s Castle I’ve lowered my grades, I get distracted easily, when I’m home I don’t have the energy to study, and when I actually do study, I spend the entire test thinking about her. </p><p>My parents, of course, weren’t happy about it. My dad confronted me, he yelled at me, telling me Blight’s shouldn’t settle for mediocrity... I talked back.  </p><p>“This entire household is mediocre already...” He didn’t like that. And he hit me. Many times. The next day I had to wear makeup to school.  </p><p>That was the first time I had talked back to him, and it felt great. It was also the first time he hit me in months, but not the first time he hit me ever. The next day I had to cover my cheek with make up so I wouldn’t start rumors against my family, somehow the hit didn’t go unnoticed by Gus, who questioned me in the middle of the hallway, I was way too angry and hurt to think, I yelled at him and stormed off. I tried passing the day as best as I could, by the end of it I entered an empty classroom and broke down crying. Willow entered a few minutes after, and we talked like we used to, and it helped me a lot. Thanks to that pep talk we had, I knew exactly what to do and how to do it.  </p><p>I tried as hard as I could to shut down my Luz thoughts during school, and left them for after hours. And with the help of both Willow and Gus, I was back on my feet. I reached the top student position again, which made my parents proud.  </p><p>About a month after, I was walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria when I felt someone grab my arm and pull me into a classroom.  </p><p>“What the hell!?” I turned around to push them, but I stopped when I heard them say.  </p><p>“Amity! It’s okay it’s just me, Gus.” He said with a laugh. I was so relieved it wasn’t someone I don’t know; I still want to push him though. “I have to talk to you about something.” His tone changed, he sounded more serious.  </p><p>He led me to the back of the classroom, where he had a huge white board and a bunch of books scattered around. He stood in front of the board and motioned me to sit in front of him. I grabbed one of the books and read the title ‘Portals 101’, and another one that read ‘How to give hugs’. I looked at all the books, they were all related to portals and the human world. “What’s all this?” I asked him with a laugh.  </p><p>“This, is what I’ve been investigating this past month.” He motioned the whiteboard. There were hundreds and thousands of formulas that I didn’t understand, but one line called my attention.  </p><p>‘Portal to the Human World: Project’  </p><p>“Gus... what?” I was so confused; my mind was trying to process the information in front of me. “I’m going to need you to explain with more details what this is.” He smiled at me.  </p><p>“I’ve spent the last month investigating about human life and their culture.” He walked back to the whiteboard and explained it to me. “And I’ve also been investigating how to open a portal.” Slowly I was beginning to understand his plan. “Amity... I’m going to open a portal to the human world so you can visit Luz.” Air left my lungs, I stared at Gus, smile on my face as I felt tears streaming down my cheeks.  </p><p>“Gus this is... you’re... oh my god thank you!” I jumped from my chair and wrapped Gus in the tightest hug ever. “But are you sure this is going to work?”  </p><p>“you’re underestimating me, I’m Gus, there’s nothing I can’t do.” I smiled at him. “Although there is one thing I can’t do right now and that’s breathing, could you please stop hugging me?” I gasped and released him immediately  </p><p>“Sorry, I’m just so happy, I think this is the happiest I've been since Luz was around.” I have the chance to see Luz again, after all this time. “So, when will I be able to go?”  </p><p>His smile dropped. “It’s going to take a while, if my calculations are correct, and they are... opening a portal will take me five to six years.” My happiness plummeted to the ground. Five to six years? I have to wait that long to see Luz?  </p><p>“I... I can’t believe I have to wait that long, but if it’s to see Luz again, I’m willing to do it. What do we do in the meantime?” Gus clasped his hands with mine and smiled.  </p><p>“I’m happy you asked!” He threw some books and magazines in front of me. “We are going to learn about the human world together, we have five to six years to learn how they act, talk, walk, everything.” I sensed he was about to start ranting about humans so I stopped him.  </p><p>“And, uh, why would we do that?” I asked him.  </p><p>“Remember how confused we were when Luz did any of her human quirks? Now imagine that but it’s every single person you see. “<em> That’s a good point...  </em> “There’s one more thing...” I raised an eyebrow at him. “We have to plan what you're going to do there. You're going to the human world for a while imagining you want to be with Luy there... you're going to have to study, maybe even work, so alongside our human acting class, we’re doing a human education class.” I sighed in desperation. <em>  I have  </em> <em> Hexside </em> <em>  school already and apparently, I have to learn human education too? The things I do for love...  </em> </p><p>“Alright, let’s do it.”  </p>
<hr/><p><b> Willow  </b> </p><p>Ever since Luz was forced out of the Boiling Isles my life went downhill. I didn’t have my best friend anymore; I have both Gus and Amity but they’re not Luz... they don’t have that connection that we have.  </p><p>Not only did I not have my best friend, I also lost my protector. With Luz gone, Boscha started picking on me again. She would keep calling me half a witch Willow, throwing stuff at me, making snarky comments. Amity and Gus defend me, or at least try, Boscha never listens to them at it usually ends with her saying mean things to them both.  </p><p>“Hey Willow!” I turned around and saw both Edric and Emira running in my direction. </p><p>“Oh! Edric, Emira! What can I help you with?” I expected them to ask me for help on a prank against Amity, but what they told me shocked me.  </p><p>“How have you seen Amity this past few days?” They looked at each other. “Has she been eating properly? Is she paying attention in class?” Edric asked question one behind the other, not giving the chance to answer.  </p><p>“Edric! Don’t bombard the poor girl with questions, let her answer...” They both looked at me expectantly.  </p><p>“Um... I’ve noticed she’s different, she barely eats during recess, she gets distracted easily... last week I saw her cry on the witches bathroom...” Edric lowered his head and Emira sighed.  </p><p>“Yeah, we noticed it too, she’s not the same Amity from a few weeks ago...” Emira looked at Edric before continuing. “Not the same Amity she was when Luz was around...” They had noticed too, the way Luz brought out the best version of Amity, the way Luz could make her so happy.  </p><p>“It was pretty obvious how madly in love Mittens is with Luz but.” Edric looked down, sadly. “I never knew it was that bad.”  </p><p>Amity missed Luz the most out of all of us, me and Gus were her friends, but she loved her.  </p><p>“Willow, could you maybe talk to Amity about it?” I turned to look at Emira. “You’re really close to her, check if she’s doing okay, maybe you can help her out...” I nodded at them both and they smiled. “Thank you, really, if you need some favors you can contact us.” </p><p>“Bye Willow!” I waved them both off. </p><p>I started walking down the hallway, looking for Amity to talk to her. After a few minutes of looking I heard someone sobbing in one of the classrooms. I opened the door and found Amity curled up in a corner crying. I made my way towards her to comfort her. “Hey... it's okay, let it all out... I'm here.” She turned to look at me and I got wrapped in a hug, I tried imitating that one thing Luz did with me when I was sad, I started gently rubbing her back.  </p><p>After a few minutes she calmed down, she turns to look at me and smiles. “Hey, Willow, what're you doing here?” She asked while wiping her runny nose with her sleeve.  </p><p>“I was looking for you when I heard you cry...” I moved a little bit to the side before continuing. “Do you want to talk? I’m all ears.” She took a deep breath before telling me.  </p><p>“I miss her, god Willow, I miss her so much...” She started crying again, I put my hand comfortingly over hers. “I was never this attached to anyone, no one made me feel how Luz did... she made me feel important, amazing, happy...” </p><p>“Loved.” I finished for her, she smiled at me and nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, I get that, there’s something about Luz that’s just... she can make you happy just by smiling.” I grasped Amity’s hand. “But Ami, you can’t let that destroy you, it can’t stop you. You have to move on.” She looked down, ashamed.  </p><p>“I know, I know I have to move on but, it’s really hard.”  </p><p>“It is, I'm not saying you can't miss her, but don’t let her be the only thing in your head.” I suppressed a chuckle before continuing. “But I guess I'm asking too much for a big gay disaster like you...”  </p><p>I heard Amity gasp offended, and she slapped my arm playfully. “I’m not a big gay disaster, I'm very functional thank you.” We both laughed, it took a few seconds until we both stopped. “Thank you, Willow, I needed this pep talk, you helped me a lot with... everything.” </p><p>“Hey, that’s what friends are for, now let’s get you fixed up, we have classes and I don’t think you want to be late.” I stood up and extended my hand to her, she stood up taking it and we exited the classroom together. </p><p>Today I cut my hair. Today I didn’t wear any hair feminine accessories. Today I wore a boxer. </p><p>I have been struggling with my gender identity for more than a year, every day that passed I felt less and less like a woman. Today was the first time I made that clear physically.  </p><p>I told my dads a week ago how I was feeling, and who I am. They took it really well, an advantage of having gay dads, I guess. They told me we could go next week to legally change my name, and that in a month or two I could begin the hormonal magic treatment. I couldn’t be happier.  </p><p>I went to school feeling more confident that I could ever have, huge smile on my face. Then Boscha bumped into me. </p><p>“Well if it isn’t half a witch Willow. “She circled me and laughed. “I see you got yourself a haircut, any special reason?” She tugged it and threw my head back. “And what happened to your accessories?” She put a finger on my chest and pushed me. “Don’t tell me... is half a witch Willow... half a wizard Willow?” She laughed crudely at me, “I knew you were pathetic but this? This is another level!” </p><p>“Leave me alone, Boscha, I haven’t done anything to you.” I pushed past her and continued walking.  </p><p>She grabbed my arm and pulled me to look at her. “I don’t need a reason to mess with you, I simply do.” She grabbed my arm with such a strength it started to hurt me. “I don’t care if you change your name, voice and body...” She pushed me to the floor. “You will NEVER be a real guy!” She looked at me one last time, then walked away.  </p><p>I sat there for I don’t know how long, I couldn’t move, I was in such a shock, I wanted to cry and curl up in a ball. </p><p>“Hey, are you alright?” I heard someone talk behind me, I turned around and saw a white skinny boy walking towards me.  </p><p>“Hey, Jerbo, no I’m not but I’m already used to it, you know?” He sat down next to me and huffed.  </p><p>“No one should be used to getting bullied, no one deserves that.” He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder. “You’re trans right?” I nodded at him with fear. “That’s amazing, I’m proud of you for accepting yourself.” </p><p>“You... you don’t I’m weird?” I looked at him astonished.  </p><p>“No, of course not, Willow...” He grabbed my hand, and I really hoped the heat I felt on my cheeks was the sun... “Being trans is completely normal, there’s nothing wrong with it.” He stopped for a second before continuing. “And um, I’m sure you don’t like being called Willow anymore... so, what should I call you?” I paused for a second, before answering with confidence.  </p><p>“Willam, I want to be called Willam.”  </p>
<hr/><p><b> Gus </b> </p><p>Out of all of us, I was the one who got over Luz’s departure the fastest. I dipped myself into my school work, I would see Willow and Amity from time to time, but at the same time I would try not to talk too much with them because seeing them makes me think of Luz.  </p><p>I worked hard to try and get the top student spot, and it actually worked. At some point Amity lost her top student spot and I took it for her, I was surprised by this but not angry, I’ve wanted that top spot for a long time.  </p><p>A few days later, as I was making my way to my Illusion class, I bumped into Amity. We hadn’t seen each other since before I got the top student spot, so I decided to brag a little bit.  </p><p>“Miss perfect Amity... did you hear there's a new...” I stroke a pose at her. “top student in town. Pew! Pew!” She looked at me unfazed, then lowered her head.  </p><p>“Yeah, congratulations, sorry for bumping into you...” And she walked away. I was so confused, but as she walked next to me, I realized something that made me grab her arm and yank her to me.  </p><p>“Amity... is that a bruise on your cheek?” She had a small bruise near her ear, on her chin, once I looked closer to her I realized it was even bigger, but the rest was covered by make up so it wasn’t visible from far away. “What happened to you?”  </p><p>“Nothing! I just, um... ran into a locker...” She’s a terrible liar. I knew she wasn’t going to tell me anything, so I tried delving in it myself. </p><p>“Amity, did your parents do this?” Her eyes widened and she pulled her arm off my grasp. </p><p>“That’s none of your business Gus!” She covered her mouth once she realized what she had said, some people stopped what they were doing and stared at us. “... damn it” she said in a low tone before running away. I was going to chase her, but realized she needs her space. I turned around and continued walking to my class, ignoring those making comments about the situation.  </p><p>That same day in the afternoon I saw Willow and Amity inside one of the classrooms, hugging each other. I wanted to go in and hug them both, but then again, space. I did wait for them at the entrance of the school, so we could all go home together. I sat there waiting for around thirty minutes, when I heard Willow say behind me.  </p><p>“Oh, Gus! What’re you doing here?” They both smiled at me.  </p><p>“I saw your bags were still on Mrs. Kemmerer class, so I figured you were still around campus, I decided to wait for the both of you.” Amity walked to me; she ruffled my hair as she said.  </p><p>“Aren’t you the cutest little boy?” I swatted her hand away and ruffled.  </p><p>“We’re only two years apart in age, don’t play smart with me Amity.” I answered back, which made Amity throw her head back and laugh loudly. While she was trying to calm down, I met Willow’s eyes, she mouthed a ‘thank you’ and I figured Amity really needed that laugh.  </p><p>“Well! We still have a few hours before night, how about we go to the town center and eat some Not-Dogs!” Willow said, both me and Amity agreed to the idea. Most of the day was used in cheering Amity up, she opened up to me and told me what happened, I told her I was there for her, and that she’s not a failure, she got really emotional hearing that and she hugged me. Willow also told me they had stayed behind to talk about Luz, so now everything made more sense to me. Amity had lost her top student spot for having Luz in her head 24/7 and her father hit her. Willow also told me she knocked some sense into Amity, which meant she was going to get that top student spot back sooner or later. </p><p>And just like I guessed, a week later I lost my spot as top student. It was great while it lasted...  </p><p>I have been working on a big project for a while, something I hope will change our world forever, and it’s a great way of making up to Amity for being so nosy about her personal life. I’ve been working on it non-stop, and if it goes well, I would be the first person to open a permanent portal to the human world.  </p><p>Needless to say, things went great with Amity, she got so happy about the project she started to cry. We would start our human acting classes tomorrow morning, I’m just as excited as she is, humans are my passion.  </p><p>Right now, things are going really well. Me, Willam and Amity are doing better than ever, helping each other out in what we need. Willam came out to me and Amity a few days ago, and of course we accepted him, he’s my best friend, we also became his personal protection squad against Boscha. Also, for some reason I've seen Willam and Jerbo talking a lot this past few days... hm...  </p><p>My worry-less life changed. I got a note from the Emperor’s Coven, saying that I was an amazing student and that they would love to have me even at such a young age.  </p><p>I was really doubtful at first, I was between declining and accepting, but after a lot of thinking I accepted.  </p><p>Not because I actually want to be in the Emperor’s Coven, after what happened that day both me and Amity abandoned our dream of joining the Coven, realizing how corrupt it is. I accepted because it’s a great way to be working as a spy, if I’m part of the Coven I can learn things, secrets, plans... and I can find out where Eda is, if she’s even alive to begin with.  </p><p>I was told to visit the Emperor’s Castle for an explanation as to how things would work for me as a Coven member, two hours later we finished the rundown, now I’m going to meet Belos face to face, and see the rest of the Emperor’s Coven up close.  </p><p>I knocked on the big door in front of me, once it opened, I slowly made my way to the center, looking at all the Coven members. One member in particular caught my eye. She had white messy hair, she was tall and slim, and I could recognize that nail polish anywhere.  </p><p><em> Eda!? </em> </p>
<hr/><p><b> Eda </b> </p><p><b> “ </b>Edalyn Clawthorn, by the power invested in me by the supreme ruler Emperor Bel-”  </p><p>“Yeah yeah, he is so big and amazing and all powerful, oooh how I tremble in fear.” I interrupted that tiny hand-haired goblin, she was talking to much about Belos, and I am uninterested. <em>I just need a little more time and I'll escape.</em> </p><p>“Edalyn, you should learn to respect the people holding you captive, we have the power here after all.” Kiki looks down at where I am, holding my chin up with her hand, forcing me to look at her. “If you cooperate and behave, Belos can be very forgiving and even helpful... but if you don’t" I let out a grunt as her grip on my chin tightened. “The consequences will be dire.” She looked at me for a few seconds, then let go of my chin. </p><p>“I’m not interested in joining your little Belos Fanclub, I have better things to do.”  </p><p>Kiki laughs at me, then turns to leave. “You’ll accept eventually.”  </p><p>I spent the next week locked in a cell. As soon as I was thrown in it, I tried to escape, only to find out the cell had a protection spell that neutralizes all my magical powers. I was starting to get bored there, I started thinking about King and Hooty.  </p><p>“I wonder what those two are up to... King is probably trying to control some inanimate object while Hooty fails at singing... heh” I said to myself. I also found myself thinking of Luz, but I wasn’t worried, I knew the kid was safe and that she’s more than capable of defending herself. Thinking of her, of King and Hooty... thinking of those who are and will always be my family made me do something I haven't done in years. I cried.  </p><p>The days continued passing, and my hopes of ever leaving that cell were lower each time. I used my nails to carve lines in the wall, one per each passing day. Since my cell had no windows, I used my meal time as my clock. So far, I’ve gotten twenty meals, twenty days.  </p><p>On the thirtieth day, I got a visit from my sister Lillith. “Hello, Edalyn.” She looked down at me like I was some wild animal. “You look terrible.” </p><p>“Thanks for the nice comments, sis.” I replied sarcastically. “But what can I expect from the woman who’s keeping her own sister locked in a cell with a meal a day...”  </p><p>“Trust me when I say, I’ve been doing everything in my power to take you out of this rotten place...” She sighed before continuing. “Belos hoped for you to soften up during your time here, he still wants you to-” </p><p>“Join the Emperors Coven? It’s a no.” I cut her off, knowing what was going to come out of her mouth. “If he wants me to soften up, he needs to keep me here forever.” </p><p>Lilith sighs and turns around. “I’m sure if you talk directly with him, he’ll convince you...” She turned around again, this time looking at me. “Belos has requested your presence in the Throne Room, he wants to speak to you.”  </p><p>A few minutes later, I'm standing in front of Belos himself. He looks dumber than I remember.  </p><p>“The Owl Lady, it’s a pleasure to have you here...”<em> What’s up with these people and dragging things so much.</em>  </p><p>“Get to the point Belos, I’m tired.” I spoke over him and yawned. He looked shocked for a few seconds, before regaining his composure.  </p><p>“Very well, Demon Hunters, please come in.” The doors in the throne room opened and in walked the well-known demon hunters, their leader in the front. “Any news on the job I ordered you to do?”  </p><p>“Yes, Emperor Belos, the demon has been destroyed...” He took a long pause before continuing. “The Owl House is no more.”  </p><p>My heart stopped. The Owl House is no more? What does that even mean? “What... do you mean the owl house is no more?” I asked, my voice shaking </p><p>“Emperor Belos here ordered us to kill the house demon of yours, we sedated the owl and burned the entire house to the ground, it’s really simple.” Air left my body, my heart started thumping in my chest, I did my best to hild back the tears about to leave my eyes.  </p><p>“You... killed Hooty?” I tried to raise my voice at them, but it broke halfway through.  </p><p>“Yes, we did...” He said like it was the most normal thing to do. “Oh, we also found a little demon inside of the house, he tried biting us, but we got that controlled too.” That’s when I started crying.  </p><p>“What did you do to King?” I whisper yelled at him.  </p><p>“Oh, so that’s his name?” He snapped his fingers, motioning his helpers to bring him something over, they brought over a small sized chest. He opened the chest, taking out of it... A tiny animal shaped skull. “Here, you can keep it as a memory.” He threw the skull over at my feet. I looked at his skull, realizing how the last thing I said to him was that he was replaceable... and how I never got the chance to apologize.  </p><p>“You... monster... how can you just go around killing innocent demons... like they were bugs... you’re SICK...” Belos looked at me from his throne, he sighed and got off of it, making his way towards me.  </p><p>“I told you to join the Emperor’s Coven or there would be consequences...” This fucking bitch... “Now, knowing what I'm willing to do, will you finally join the Emperor’s Coven?”  </p><p>I laughed at him. “You have to be insane if you think I’m joining the Coven after you killed two of my best friends...” Belos sighed again, he rubbed his temple with his fingers, then looked at me.  </p><p>“Very well, if you’re not going to join even with threats... I'm forced to use other methods...” He raised his arms and grabbed my head with great pressure, he forced me to keep my eyes open, his green eyes staring into mine.  </p><p>As he looked at me, I could see moments from my life passing in front of my eyes. The first time I met King, Luz’s first cast, her defeating Grom, Hooty and his weird little habits... little by little all those memories left my mind. Next thing I know, it all goes black. Right before I black out completely, I hear Belos say.  </p><p>“Next time she wakes up, she won’t remember a thing about her friends. She’ll be raised and trained as a Coven Member.”  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For the Willam part, I wrote the episode the same day I suffered a transphobic attack on the street, so I'm writing it from my own experience. And since we don't know their ages, I put both Willam and Jerbo to be 15 year olds.<br/>Remember to leave a comment, it helps me improve!<br/>If you want to come yell at me or discuss about the fic, you can DM on twitter @STARBLIGHTS</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. New Girl, Old Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am so sorry for not updating last week, I had a small writers block, but it's over now. And as an apology gift, tomorrow I'm uploading CH.4 which was supposed to be uploaded today!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Luz  </strong>
</p><p>“The word <em> nice  </em> comes originally from two ancient Indo-European roots...” I heard my teacher tell us, I tried paying attention to him while taking notes at the same time. “... no one in their right mind, though, would agree that the real meaning of  <em> nice  </em>is, or ought to be, ‘not cutting’.” At some point my hand stopped writing words, and they slowly turned into scribbles and doodles, I didn’t realize this though. He kept talking about ‘The meanings of words’ and how they’re not ‘allowed to change nor vary’, but my mind had been disconnected hours ago.  </p><p>Time passed and I didn’t even notice it, if it wasn’t for the bell signaling the end of the class. It’s loud ringing noise snapped me out of my trance, I looked around, and saw my classmates picking up their stuff to move to their next class. My eyes drifted to my notebook; the notes I was taking where buried under a bunch of doodles. I recognized one of the many doodles I made, a girl, with a gorgeous green hair.  </p><p>I looked away, took ahold of the page with the doodle, and ripped it. I crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the garbage can before walking away.  </p><p>A little over six years had passed since I was forced out of the Boiling Isles, since then I forced myself to forget about that world, about the friendships I made, about my mentor. About Amity. I submerged myself in school, managing to end amongst the top ten students in my class. That accomplishment helped me enter one of the best universities out there, where I’m currently in my second year of studying Applied Linguistics. After I started focusing more on my studies and less on fantasy stuff, more people got close to me. I have friends, they’re not a lot, but they’re good.  </p><p>Another thing I did to keep my mind away from everything was finding an after-college activity, and I joined the colleges volleyball team. I had played volleyball before in school, and my teacher told me I had a natural talent for it, so once I tried out for the team I was quickly taken into the team as a Libero. At first it was just a distraction, yet I slowly fell in love with the sport and my fellow teammates.  </p><p>Yet, with all of these distractions, I still would think about that place. I realized after a few years, that the best way for me to stop thinking of them, was taking them out of my head. So, amongst all the stuff I already had, I joined an art class. There I could draw whatever I wanted, and most times those drawings would be places I saw, people I met, and situations I lived while being in the Boiling Isles. It turned out to be incredibly therapeutic to me, it has been helping me a lot.  </p><p>And now this is the third time I've drawn something Boiling Isles related outside of art class.  </p><p>I sighed, gathered all of my books before walking to my next class. Luckily for me in this class I sit next to my best friend, Sab. I enter the classroom and she waves at me as I make my way to our table.  </p><p>“Hey, Luz!” She smiles at me. “How did class with Mr. Angelo go? I know how stressful his classes are, with all the theme jumps and stuff...” She said that last part as she leaned down and took her laptop from her bag.   </p><p>“It was... good.” I told her. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. <em> Of course </em> <em>  she didn’t believe me, she’s my best friend, I can’t lie to her.  </em> “Fine, I got distracted and turned my notebook into a doodle parade...” She stayed silent a few seconds before laughing out loud.   </p><p>“Wow Luz, couldn’t wait until art class?” I punched her in the shoulder lightly, which only made her laugh even more. “But on another note, my roommate is in the same class as you, I can ask them to send me their notes and I can pass them to you.” This kind of things she did for me made me remember why we’re friends. I nodded at her before answering.  </p><p>“Yes, that would be great, thank you!” We continued talking for a few minutes before our teacher walked in and told us to quiet down.  </p><p>This class passed surprisingly fast, given how boring it can be at times. It was the last class we had today, so after that I just had to wait an hour before art class began. I accompanied Sab to her dorm, she bid me farewell as she entered her room, telling me she would send me the notes later that night. I walked back to the campus, making a quick stop at a cafeteria nearby it to buy an iced coffee for the road. I arrived back after half an hour of walking and made my way to the art classroom.</p><p>I entered the class and made my way to my stool; I left my bag on the floor before going to the back and grabbing my material. I was the first one there so I grabbed my favorite brushes and paint sets. After a few minutes my classmates started entering the class, each one of them saying hi to me. The teacher entered as well, saying hello to all of us.  </p><p>She stood in front of the board, motioning us to listen to her for a short moment. We all made silence, those who were drawing put their pencils down and stared at her.  </p><p>“So, I have an announcement to make, turns out we have a new student joining the art class, she’s an exchange student that arrived last year, and she’s a business major.” Everyone started talking to each other, making speculations about what she may look like, how she may be like. The teacher shushed us again, she sighed before talking again. “She’s finishing up some required paperwork, she should be joining us in a bit-” She was interrupted by a bang on the door, she turned around and walked to the door, “Oh that must be her.”  </p><p>I looked away from the door and into the drawing I was working on. I had little to no interest in meeting this new person, I grabbed my pencil again and continued working on my drawing of The Owl House. The door opened and I heard a lot of my classmates' comments about how pretty she was, I was tempted to look at her, but just shrugged it off, I can still see her when class ends.  </p><p>“Why don’t you introduce yourself?” I heard my teacher say. The girl didn’t say anything back so I just guessed she nodded at the teacher.  </p><p>The words that came out of her mouth made my entire body freeze on its spot.  </p><p>“Hello, my name is Amity, Amity Blight. Pleasure to meet you all.”  </p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Amity </strong>
</p><p>I had just presented myself to a bunch of strangers, as much as I had spent five years with Gus learning about the human world, a lot of the things they did were still weird to me. I could hear them talking about me, most of the comments were about how pretty I was...  </p><p>I looked around, taking in each one of their different faces, it was a particular face that caught my attention, one I hadn’t seen in six long years.  </p><p><em> Luz…  </em> </p><p>She looked so different now. Her hair was noticeably longer, as she kept it in a ponytail, it looked amazing on her. She looked older, more mature, and I didn’t know if it was because of her age, her height, or the tattoos and piercings on her body… either way she looked really gorgeous. Her outfit though, that was also a sight to behold: she had a light brown shirt, her jeans where a little baggy, with a brown belt holding it up, she also had two necklaces on, and a pair of rings on her left hand. There was also a flannel on her chair, I assumed she wore it outside of school, as the class was pretty hot. I kept staring at her before I was snapped out of my trance, the teacher had just told me to sit at the back of the class. Right next to Luz. I nodded at her and made my way there.  </p><p>I sat down and looked at Luz, she looked at me once, before turning away. I was confused as to why she didn’t seem happy to see me. I tried focusing on the class, I managed to get some stuff done, before Luz leaned over and handled a note to me.  </p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> We have to talk, after class ends meet me in the courtyard.     </span>
</p><p>  </p><p>I nodded at her, and put the note in my bag. The class wouldn’t end for another forty-five minutes, so I kept staring at my watch, waiting for the class to be over soon. After what seemed like an eternity the class finally ended, I turned to look at Luz but she had already left her seat. She left the classroom and I saw her walk away in direction to the courtyard. I grabbed hold of my stuff before walking as fast as I could.  </p><p>I got lost for a moment, before finally finding the courtyard, when I walked to it, I saw Luz sitting on a bench, she looked at me for a moment, before motioning me to sit next to her. I walked towards her, shaking like a leaf. I sat down, waiting for her to say something, yet she stayed in absolute silence. A few minutes passed, before I decided to break that silence myself.  </p><p>“Hey Luz-” </p><p>“What are you doing here?” I got cut off by Luz’s voice, I turned to look at her, she was looking at me with an angry, almost annoyed face, I was really confused by this. I thought she would be happy to see me after all those years.  </p><p>“W-What do you mean?” I stuttered, trying not to cry right there and then. “I came for you, I’ve been trying to reach you for the past six years, I-” She interrupted me once again.  </p><p>“Great! Just when I’m starting to get over the Boiling Isles, the Boiling Isles come to me, how convenient...” She huffed and stood up, she walked away from the chair and into the grass. I stood up and followed her annoyed.  </p><p>“Excuse me? What do you mean ‘get over the Boiling Isles’? Did you really plan to erase us from your memory and pretend we never existed? Did you think your life could be better if you forgot about your friends, about Gus? Willam?” She stayed still, but I saw her flinch slightly at the mention of Willam. <em>Right she doesn't know Willam is trans</em>; I took a deep breath before continuing. “What about your mentor, Eda?” In that moment, Luz gasped, looking down at her hands. “Why would you want to forget them... why would you want to forget... me?”  </p><p>“Because...” I noticed the way her voice changed, she was trembling, her voice cracking each few word. “In that time, the possibility of me going back to the Boiling Isles, of seeing Gus, Willam, Eda... you... it seemed impossible. I knew if I kept thinking about it, I would end up hurting myself.” She turned around and out eyes met, hers were puffy and red from the tears. “During this past six years I did everything in my power to forget, I changed, Amity.” I had noticed this a while ago, she was different, she wasn’t the same bubbly kid she had met.  </p><p>“A certain someone told me ‘if something makes you happy and you hold on too tightly to it, then that’s okay, cause most times you need that happiness in your life’ “I told her with a smile. She raised her arm to wipe her tears and asked me.  </p><p>“Who told you that?”  </p><p>I took a step closer to her, and grabbed her hands with mine. “You did.”  </p><p>She didn’t say anything, she just smiled at me, she tightened her grip on my hands and pulled me into a tight embrace. I hugged her back once I overcame the shock. Without breaking the embrace, I heard her tell me: “I missed you so much Amity...” She separated from me and wiped her tears once again.  </p><p>“I missed you too, Luz...” We stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of us moving a single muscle. I was enraptured in the way her eyes looked at me, like I was the most precious thing in the world. I smiled at her and as soon as I did that she snapped out of her stare and separated from me.  </p><p>“So... I should have asked about this before, but you called my best friend Willam? I imagine he identifies as a boy now, right?” I nodded at Luz.  </p><p>“Yeah, he came out a month or so after you left, he’s been getting a lot of emotional help from us, his parents, and Jerbo.” I told her with a smile.  </p><p>“Jerbo? Why would he be getting help from Jer... bo...” She paused a few seconds, before hitting her forehead and laughing. “Oooh, yeah, that makes sense.” I chuckled at her obliviousness to romance, feels oddly familiar. “But on another note, how long have you been here on the human realm? And how did you find me?” </p><p>“Well, it was all with the help of Gus and the Human Appreciation Society, I may have taken daily classes about the human realm...” Luz stared at me, mouth wide open.  </p><p>“You learned human things, for me?”  </p><p>“Yeah, I knew if I wanted to come for you, I would have to act like a human and not a witch... which by the way was really hard on my first week here because everyone kept asking if I was a cosplayer, so I had to hide my ears on this.” I said, motioning to the snapback I was currently wearing.   </p><p>“That hat looks good on you... wait first week? How long have you been in the Human Realm?” </p><p>“A little over a year... I spent this entire year trying to find you, also trying to get into college.”  She stared at me, as if asking for more explanation as to how. “I had to bring Gus with me for the first week, he used Illusion magic to make a fake letter from a fake University, luckily the Business major is really similar to what I was studying in the Boiling Isles, so it was no problem for me to get adapted easily.” Luz was still in a trance, not a single word came out of her mouth, until a few minutes after.  </p><p>“Wow... you’re... amazing.” I blushed at what she had told me, and looked away.  </p><p>In a moment, my mind drifted to our last moment together, right before she was forced through the portal. I remembered how I had tried, and failed, to confess to her. I wanted to do it right this time, to tell her how I really feel.  </p><p>“Hey, Luz... I need to tell you something...” I turned to look at her, she blinked and nodded, motioning me to continue. “Right before you were forced out of the Boiling Isles, did you hear anything?”  </p><p>She thought for a few seconds before saying. “I could hear a voice but it was muffled, I didn’t hear what they were saying... why?”  </p><p>“Luz, that voice was me...” I took a deep breath before saying. “I was telling you, that I love you...”  </p><p>If she was frozen when I told her about my first year in the Human Realm, now she was a statue. She stared at me, opening and closing her mouth a few times, before finally answering.  </p><p>“Oh, Amity that’s, amazing...” <em> Damn it... </em>  “I feel the same way.”  <em> Wait, what? </em> “And I would totally reciprocate your feelings, but there’s a small problem...”  </p><p>“And that is?” I asked her.<em>   if she feels the same way, then why...  </em> </p><p>“I have a boyfriend.”  </p><p><em> Oh.  </em> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Close</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>omg is this... a filler chapter? yes, yes it is.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Amity </strong>
</p><p>“Oh, that’s great Luz!” <em>it’s not</em> “I’m happy you found someone who loves you.”<em> it should have been me</em> “I’m happy for you” <em>I wish </em> <em>I could be happy as well.</em> </p><p>“Thank you, Amity, I know how hard this might be for you...” <em>please, stop talking.</em>  </p><p>I wanted to run, to go back to the Boiling Isles and lock myself in my room forever. I had spent six years, six whole fucking years waiting for Luz, I never moved on... many tried scoring a date with me, I declined each and every one, my heart only belonged to Luz.  </p><p>But it seems Luz’s heart didn’t belong to me.  </p><p>She moved on, she found someone to make her happy, and she forgot about me. I wanted to be angry at her, to tell her how much she was hurting me, how much I had risked and lost just so I could be with her. My parents disowned me after they found out about my classes with Gus, I ended up moving in with Gus and his father, they were both very supportive. I graduated with honors from Hexside, and I could’ve entered the best University in Bonesborough, and have my entire future solved for me. But here I am, with all that thrown into the drain for a girl that saw me as a bad thing in her mind up until a few minutes ago.  </p><p>“It’s okay, now that I know your answer I can move on, find someone of my own...” She looked at me for a few seconds, before pushing me on the shoulder lightly.  </p><p>“Whoever gets you will be one lucky girl!” Luz told me with a wide smile, I forced a fake smile of my own.  </p><p>Then I realized what she had said. “Wait, how do you know I like girls only?” I looked at her with a confused frown.  </p><p>“Please, you radiate lesbian energy.” Then she stopped for a second, putting a hand into her chin, like she was thinking. “Oh! Your snapback makes you look like a ‘hey mama’s lesbian’!”  </p><p>“Yeah, I’m going to pretend I know what that is, and also assume it’s a good thing.” She let out a chuckle.  </p><p>“But yeah, jokes aside, I fully support you. Oh! We have to go to the Pride Parade together!” I had heard a lot about this Parade, yet I wanted her to tell me about it, I loved how her face changed when she talked about something that’s important to her.  </p><p>“Oh, what is that?” And Luz entered full-on excited baby mode, telling me everything about it, from its origins to its meaning, to the many things we could do together that day... she also mentioned something about having matching outfits but I tried to block out that part of my mind.  </p><p><em>Stop talking about cute things you want to do with me like we were a couple... </em> </p><p>“I would love to do all those things with you, Luz...” I smiled softly at her. She smiled back, before her phone vibrated in her pocket.  </p><p>“Carajo, it’s my roommate. Give me one second Ami” <em>Ami... She just gave me a cute nickname... Don’t blush Amity.</em> She turned around from me, and walked a few steps away. I could hear their conversation, but I couldn’t understand a word, since they were talking to each other in Spanish. After a few minutes I saw her walking back to me. “Me debes una grande, Mel... Chao.” She huffed and hung up.  </p><p>“Everything alright?”  </p><p>“Yeah, it’s just my roommate asked me to spend the night outside of our dorm...” She looked at her phone once, before putting it back into her pocket. “Apparently she invited her girlfriend over for the night, so she wants the dorm for the two of them only.”  </p><p>“It’s really kind of you to let her do that, I would’ve still gone to the dorm.” She chuckled.  </p><p>“Yeah I don’t doubt that. But honestly, I don’t have a problem with it, the only thing is that I don’t quite know where to stay...” I looked at her, she was looking at motels she could stay in, you could sense her frustration a mile away. I decided to offer something I might end up regretting.  </p><p>“You could stay with me...” She looked up from her phone, eyes wide.  </p><p>“Really? Oh my god, thank you Ami!” She wrapped me in a tight hug, and I once again felt, like I could die right there and then. </p><p>“Y-Yeah, when I asked for a room here, I wasn’t assigned a roommate, so there’s an entire bed for you to sleep in...”  </p><p>“Great, let’s get going!” She took out her phone again, looking at the time. She frowned and said. “I don’t feel like walking, but the last bus to the dorms left half an hour ago... Oh! I got it.” I saw her touch her phone, before bringing it to her ear. “Hey baby... yes I’m good... do you think you could come pick me and a friend up?... you’re an angel, thank you, love you...” She hung up with a smile. “So, I called my boyfriend, he said he can come pick us up!”  </p><p>“Oh, really? That's good...” It’s not. “I can’t wait to meet him!” <em>Please let him be ugly, so I can at least feel better about myself. </em> </p><p>“He told me his five minutes away, let’s wait for him in the main entrance!” She grabbed my hand and basically pulled me to the entrance.  </p><p>We waited outside for a few seconds, before I saw Luz wave at a dark blue car making its way towards us. Luz motioned me to get in the back seat, she sat in the front, next to her boyfriend. As soon as she got in the car, I saw them both share a short kiss.  </p><p>“Hey darling, who is your friend on the backseat?” He asked, pointing at me.  </p><p>“That’s Amity, she’s uh... an old friend from high school, turns out we go to the same college and I had no idea.” She turned to look at me. “Ami, this is Nicholas!” He turned around and smiled at me.  </p><p>“Nice to meet you, Amity!” He extended his hand towards me. <em>Get your greasy Cheeto hands away from me. </em>I took it and smiled at him. “If the name Nicholas I too long, you can just call me Nick.”  </p><p>“Will do!”  </p><p>“So where are you ladies headed?” Luz told him to take us to the dorms, and as if I wasn’t even there, they started a conversation with each other. <em>My mind was thinking about a thousand ways of how to kill him, yeah no I don’t want to go to jail.</em>  </p><p>At some point their conversation stopped being friendly and bubbly, and it turned into a more serious conversation. Luz looked really mad, she huffed and looked at the window. I saw that Nicks grip on the steering wheel had tightened, he was mad as well. I had no idea what happened, nor what caused them to be like this, but honestly, I didn’t mind.  </p><p>After what seemed like an hour, we finally reached the dorms. Luz got off the car without saying a word, I got down as well and followed her.  </p><p>“Hey, will you at least say goodbye to me?!” I got startled when I heard Nick scream at her, Luz just continued walking, ignoring him. I noticed she was mad, like really mad. I had no idea if I was supposed to say something to make her feel better, or if I should just stay quiet.  </p><p>“Hey, Luz... are you okay?” She stopped, and turned to look at me.  </p><p>“No, but it’s not a big deal, I don’t want to bother you with boy problems...” I walked to her and grabbed her shoulders.  </p><p>“It’s not just ‘boy problems’ it’s Luz problems, and I want you to be happy, I don’t like not seeing you smile.” She let out a small smile, which made my heart flutter. “How about we go to my dorm and you vent to me, hm?” She nodded in agreement and we made our way upstairs.  </p><p>I opened my dorm room and let Luz in, my dorm wasn’t really decorated with anything, I had some posters I brought from back home and Azura merch, which didn’t go unnoticed by her. She immediately ran to my collectives, looking at them like they were the most precious thing in the world. I noticed she was very attracted to a certain Azura figurine.  </p><p>“This is amazing Amity! How did you buy all of this?” I rubbed the back of my head and let out an awkward laugh.  </p><p>“I um... I didn’t buy it... I used magic to distract the sales man while I took the figures...” The look on Luz’s face was better than applause.  </p><p>“You stole them? Damn Eda would be proud of you...” Then her shocked face changed into a happier one. “By the way how’s Eda? Oh! And King and Hooty!” <em>Oh no... Luz doesn’t know...</em>  </p><p>“Um... weren’t you going to tell me what happened with Nick?” She sat down on the bed with a huff.  </p><p>“Fine... okay so we’ve been having a lot of fights recently, and we’re barely talking. It’s like everything we talk about turns into a fight, and I don’t like that, I want to fix things with him, but it’s like he doesn’t want to fix things on his side...” At this point Luz’s face had turned into a sad frown, eyes glistening with fresh tears. <em>You know how I said I didn’t want to go to jail? Yeah scratch that, </em> <em>I'm</em> <em> making him suffer.</em>  </p><p>“Luz... why are you still with him? If you’re the only one putting an effort in that relationship, then it’s not healthy. “I sat down next to her. “You’re way too amazing to be feeling sad about a boy who doesn’t deserve you...” She turned to look at me, her smile full of love and admiration.  </p><p>“Do you mean that?” I blushed.  </p><p>“Of course, I could never lie to you... my fearless champion.” She chuckled and wiped her tears.  </p><p>“You’re amazing, Ami...” she leaned towards me and wrapped me in a very tight hug, burying her face in my neck. “I’m feeling a lot better now, so... how are things in the owl house?” I flinched, which didn’t go unnoticed by Luz. “Amity, what aren't you telling me?"</p><p>“Luz... after you were forced out, Eda got captured by the Emperor, she was... brainwashed into joining the Emperors Coven, she is currently her second in command alongside Lilith...” I could see the confusion on Luz’s face, which quickly transformed into anger.  </p><p>“He... forced Eda to join a coven?” I nodded at her. “And... Hooty and King? Where are they?”  </p><p>“They... a group of demon hunters sent by Emperor Belos were tasked with eliminating the two of them...” She looked at me, trying to understand what I was saying. “Luz, they’re both dead...” Angry doesn’t even begin to explain how enraged Luz looked in that moment.  </p><p>She stood up from the bed, and she started pacing back and forth, her hands clenched into fists. “I’m going to kill Belos... I want to hurt him... he took away my family...” Luz’s grip fists became stronger, and before I realized, she was digging her nails into her palm.  </p><p>I made my way to her and took her hands on mine. “Luz, I know you’re angry but don’t take it out on yourself, you’re not at fault-” </p><p>“But I am! Eda told me not to go that day, if I had listened to her... if I had stayed home... she wouldn’t have gotten captured, King would still be alive, so would Hooty...” She broke down crying, her body losing strenght and kneeling on the floor. I immediately wrapped her around my arm, trying to tell her soothing words into her ear.  </p><p>After a few minutes her loud sobs became soft whimpers, I took her face in my hands and wiped her tears. “Listen to me, don’t blame yourself for something you didn’t even know was going to happen, it’s not your fault Luz.” I reached up, and grabbed one of the figurines from my desk, which was near us. “Here, I want you to have it...”  </p><p>“Your Azura figurine? Why are you giving it to me?” I took her hand and placed the figurine on it.  </p><p>“Do you remember this scene? With this specific outfit?” She nodded  </p><p>“Yeah, it’s from book seven, Hecate helps Azura realize she... wasn’t responsible for Zinger's death...” She held the figurine in her hand and smiled. “Wow... that’s oddly familiar... but wait, this is valuable to you, Amity, I can’t take it!” </p><p>“Luz... you’re more valuable to me than anything...” I caressed her cheek tenderly.  </p><p>“Amity, I-” Our eyes met, and it was like we were the only people in the world, like any problems and drama we may have didn’t exists, all my mind could think of was her, and how much I wanted to taste those lips, to show her how special she is.  </p><p>I was way too focused looking at her lips, that I barely missed her looking at mine, it was then when I realized,<em> I have to kiss her, this is my moment.</em> Our lips were mere inches away from each other, her warm breath sent a tickling sensation on my upper lip. Our noses brushed up against one another. So close, so so close...  </p><p><span class="u"> Ring</span> <span class="u">Ring</span> </p><p>We both separated from each other, startled. Luz got up and went to take her phone, she answered the call as she made her way outside of my dorm, looking for privacy. I sighed and stood up from the floor, I went to the small kitchen to drink some water and calm myself.  </p><p>
  <em>Luz and I almost kissed...  </em>
</p><p>I finished my glass and made my way back to my bed, I plopped down into it and a few seconds later in walked Luz, plopping down into her own bed, she turned and wished me a good night, before turning around and falling asleep.  </p><p>Slowly, tiredness overtook my body, and I fell asleep.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Weekly updates! Please leave a comment with what you think about the story, it helps me improve!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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